Ground Breaking

Poughkeepsie, NY
Foam & Wash Car Wash, a chain of self-serve carwashes throughout southern New York, celebrated the grand opening of its newest location on June 12 and 13.

Todd Baright, co-owner, said $1 per wash was donated to the Dutchess County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals during the wash’s first two days of business. The business also has a self-serve pet wash.

Baright said the wash is energy efficient.

Twin Falls, ID
Rocket Express carwash, believed to be the nation’s longest tunnel carwash at 270 feet, opened here on June 7.

Husband and wife team Joe and Janet Russell held an official ribbon-cutting ceremony, in which local dignitaries were invited, to the opening of the wash.

Janet told Professional Carwashing & Detailing the carwash is getting a lot of praise. “It’s been phenomenal,” she said.

Janet also said that they built the carwash with the idea of making it the longest tunnel in the country. It also has 30,000 square feet of landscaping, she said, and includes many eco-friendly touches.

Joe said, “We have an elaborate water system; we’re doing our utmost to be ecologically responsible.”

The wash currently reclaims between 50 to 60 gallons of water, but the couple hopes to someday recycle up to 90 percent of the water.

Jacksonville, FL
Rev. Mark Griffin is hoping he can transform more than just his customers’ cars after opening Transformations Car Wash here this June. That’s because Griffin is hoping his workers, all of them ex-convicts, will also be cleaning up their lives as they clean up cars.

Griffin was inspired after repeatedly hearing from convicted felons that couldn’t find work, and as a minister he felt they needed an opportunity to prove themselves.

Griffin, a former certified public accountant, hopes that his workers, including manager Randal Rodgers, an ex-offender and now manager of the business, will be able to find better employment down the road, but for now is happy to employ 10 uniformed workers washing cars six days a week.

The fully licensed and insured business offers an outside detail for $10 and an interior package for $15.

Wilmette, IL
A new environmentally-friendly carwash has opened here and gave away free hot dogs, hamburgers and sodas during its grand opening weekend-long celebration.

We Wash Wilmette also offered half-off washes over the weekend.

The full-serve wash uses eco-friendly cleaning products and is designed to save water as well.

Trail, Canada
This city will get its first carwash when OK Tire opens three self-serve bays and one touchless automatic this September.

Owner Darrell Dickson said opening the carwash was a no-brainer as the public needs it and he will need it as the owner of a Rent-A-Wreck business.

Beirut, Lebanon
Yara Service, a new mobile carwash service, will clean your vehicle with only half a liter of water.

The company is using flyers and a Facebook page to market itself to customers in the city, which already has plenty of carwashes, but “nothing like this,” according to co-founder Kamal Hariri.

Hariri said his workers will clean the inside as well as the outside of a vehicle in less than seven minutes and the service costs considerably less than a typical carwash in the market area.

The staff works on two-men teams which travel to the vehicle by motor scooter. There are four teams in total.